The Sri Lankan army is currently constructing an army camp for the 592 regiment, over the razed Mulliavallai LTTE cemetery, reported Tamilwin.

The LTTE's Mulliavallai cemetery was demolished soon after the government claimed victory in 2009, along with other LTTE memorials and cemeteries in the North-East.

Whilst the insufficiency of development in the North continues to be documented by the UN, President Mahinda Rajapaksa was taken on a tour of the southeast to inspect development in the region. The tour included two main reservoirs and ended with a visit to one of the holiest Buddhist temples, the Deegawapi temple, located in the Ampara District of the Eastern province.

The Deegawapi temple and surrounding area has been renovated at a cost of 250 million rupees, with a further 400 million rupees allocated for renovation. Rajapaksa instructed officials that the premises of Deegawapi was sacred and that the legal rights of the land belong to the temple.

The president took the time to walk through the town of Embilipitiya to meet residents and get an idea of their problems and asses the effectiveness of redevelopment in the town.

In an act of proclaimed magnanimity the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa has instructed the police not to proceed with prosecutions against parliamentarians and local politicians who have made defamatory remarks about him.

A Buddhist shrine has been opened by the Sri Lankan Army in Vavuniya north’s Kanagarayankulam, reports Uthayan.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha has accused the Indian government of concealing training it provided to members of Sri Lanka’s security forces in the state since May.

In a strongly worded letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Jayalalitha said Delhi was showing “excessive enthusiasm” for training Sri Lankan forces and that it “mischievously concealed” training officers in Tamil Nadu.

“I have expressed in no unclear terms the strong views of my government on imparting training to defence personnel belonging to Sri Lanka,

“It is very clear that this fact of ongoing training since May 2012 has been mischievously concealed from my government, showing scant regard for the views of my government as well as for the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu,” she said.

She criticised the decision to move Sri Lankan personnel to Bengaluru after she opposed their training in Tamil Nadu earlier this year.

"I reiterated (to Rajapaksa) the importance to take effective measures and demonstrate visible outcomes to the international community".

A UK Tamil student travelling on summer vacation to Sri Lanka was detained by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Thursday, reported Tamilwin.

The student, Thuwakaran Nagenthirarajah, is currently completing his higher education in London.

Sri Lanka is reluctant to sign the CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) with India, with many officials expressing a fear that CEPA would give India too much say in Sri Lanka's markets, work force and political affairs.  

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has ignored protests by the Sri Lankan government about its recent updates to travel advice over security on the island and has added further warnings.

After the recent convictions of French tourists over pictures that were taken with statues of Buddha, the foreign office advice now warns against posing in front of statues.

Addressing the occupying military in Vanni, secretary of defence Gotabhaya Rajapksa, noted that their foremost responsibility was to “ensure that all measures are adopted to win hearts and minds of the Northern civilians and prevent the recurrence of terrorism".

The land laws are to be amended to exclude the past 30 years, citing the armed conflict.

Justifying the move, Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem said,

"The Norochcholai coal power plant is not as bad as one makes it look. It is just overused, tired and needs a break to rest like any other equipment does."

"The plant was forced to work beyond its required limits and keep supplying electricity to the whole country.”

"Questioning the quality of the equipment used in the project and pointing fingers at China Machinery Engineering Corporation is without basis.”

"According to normal practice in China, a thermal plant should undergo a one month maintenance period annually… Only then can the unit be more reliable and efficient and expected to perform well."

The Sri Lankan cabinet has approved proposals by the government to obtain loans from China totalling over $1 billion.

Minister of Finance and Planning Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also President, Minister of Defence, Minister of Ports and Aviation, and Minister of Highways and Road Development, forwarded the proposals to the cabinet.